Inventory Management Problems?

Whether you’re running an ecommerce site online or you’re the proud
owner of a brick and mortar store, good inventory management
is essential to the success of your business.

Is your spreadsheet system failing you?
Are you finding it difficult to identify your best and worst sellers quickly and easily?
Do you wind up with way too much or way too little inventory?
Are customers placing orders for items that are out of stock?

Whatever your inventory management woes may be, the Shopify platform
is designed to make your life easier and your customers happier.

Setting Up and Organizing Your Products

The first step to solid inventory management is setting up and
organizing all your products in the system you’ve chosen. And there’s
more to it than just assigning a barcode and giving each product a name.
Think of classifications that make sense in your business.

For example, Shopify’s inventory management system lets you group
products by category, type, season, sale and more. Automation is a breeze
when you use smart collections to sort products according to price,
vendor and inventory level. And there’s no limit to the number or
type of products you can set up and sell through your online or retail store.

Managing Product Variations

Is your ceramic bowl available in multiple colors? What about all the
sizes that featured pair of pants comes in? Can customers order the
kids’ backpack in leather, canvas and ballistic nylon?

Managing several variations of a single product can be tricky if you
don’t have a proper inventory management system in place. With Shopify,
you have free reigns to offer any number of versions for a single product
to reflect different sizes, materials, colors and more. And every
variation can have its own SKU, price, weight and inventory number.

Assigning Barcodes

Whether you have existing barcodes to be assigned to specific products
or you need to create brand new barcodes for fresh inventory you plan
to stock, Shopify’s inventory management system is flexible and
accommodating. Use barcodes to keep track of every product you sell
and get Shopify’s wireless barcode scanner
to ring in customer orders instantly on the spot anywhere in your store.

Tracking Stock Counts

Especially in your ecommerce store, failing to track stock counts can
be detrimental to your online business. You’ve probably had it happen
before: a customer is happily shopping on your site and places
an order for a product they really want. Little do they know that behind
the scenes in your warehouse it’s out of stock! And this wasn’t reflected
on your website because you don’t have a tracking system in place.
Big no no.

With Shopify’s inventory management system, you can seamlessly track
stock counts, set up automated reminders to place orders or to manufacture
more product when the count hits a certain number, and update inventory
numbers when you receive a new shipment. Never let customers
order out of stock items again and stay on top of inventory so you can
avoid finding yourself with too little or too much stock on hand at
any given time.

Inventory Management Apps and Plugins

There’s an app for that!

Whatever you can think of that might make your life easier when it
comes to managing your inventory, chances are the Shopify app store
has it. With numerous inventory apps and plugins to choose from, you
can sell across multiple channels, set up reminders, automatically
request product reviews from customers and so much more.

Gaining Insight into Your Inventory

There’s a lot to be said about a business owner who knows and
understands their inventory. Does your product line follow the 80/20 rule?
Which products produce the highest demand? Which are less popular?
How does your inventory management reflect these trends?

Shopify’s inventory management system helps you see exactly how your
inventory is moving. Why does this matter? Because it can help
you plan future orders, forecast sales, create successful marketing
campaigns and design special promotions around your inventory numbers.

The Benefits of a Good Inventory Management System

If you’re having inventory problems, it’s time to explore different
solutions. Inventory issues can cause wasted time, overspending and process
inefficiencies in your business.

A few of the most significant benefits you can expect from a good
inventory management system include:

Never again over-order

Avoid tedious inventory recounts

Eliminate any chance of wasting money on slow moving products

Improve efficiency and productivity by implementing devices such as barcode scanners

Remove error-ridden manual processes

Get loyal and repeat customers by always having the products they want on hand

Ready to Take a Step in the Right Direction?

If you’re tired of dealing with inventory issues in your business,
learn more about Shopify’s inventory management platform. Find out exactly
how our system can help you run your business more efficiently, avoid
wasted time and money, and attract paying customers again and again.